Helen Monument, Interim Chair WA-Alliance, writes:
You know that feeling you get when you’ve been able to do something totally selflessly for someone else? Isn’t it great?
According to the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, simply by performing one random act of kindness a day, your stress, anxiety and depression will be reduced as your body is flooded with the same hormones that make you become calmer, healthier and happier.
So if just one selfless act makes us feel that good, just imagine how you will feel when you freely give your time, your skills and your attention to an organisation as a volunteer.
There are great benefits to volunteering:
- Your personal or professional aims align with those of your chosen organization or cause.
- You meet like-minded people.
- You learn new skills in a safe environment.
- You build your confidence & self esteem.
- You give something back.
- You enhance your career.
- You become part of a community.
The essence of life is to serve others and do good
Aristotle
The World Administrators Alliance and the WA-Summit totally depend on volunteers and we could not do it without them. Yes, we will be inviting paid membership to Associations, Networks and administrative professionals, but we don’t have anyone on the payroll, and all the work that is done by the Interim Council, Task Forces and Delegates is given freely and willingly.
The great thing about volunteering to support the WA-Alliance is that you have the opportunity to make a difference. Delegates at the WA-Summit have worked incredibly hard since the WA-Summit started almost twenty years ago to produce and manage surveys, analyse data and produce reports, documents, papers and guidelines that are made available on our website. All for the benefit of the Administrative Profession about which they are all so passionate, so we applaud them and their commitments.
There are also some aspects of volunteering that might make you think twice before putting up your hand:
- The project or task turns into something bigger than you thought.
- You may end up burning the candle at both ends.
- Co-volunteers may fall by the wayside, leaving more work for you.
- Things may take much longer to achieve.
Volunteering is all about the commitment that you are prepared to make. Often, we put our hand up in the heat of the moment, without giving enough thought to the time and effort that’s required. Then, when we get back into the daily routine, life takes over and our focus shifts.
Taking up a role in a voluntary organisation is like having a hobby. You enjoy doing it, so you make a conscious decision to commit your time to it. You understand that the more time you invest in it, the greater the benefits will be.
If you decide that the pro’s far outweigh the con’s, then please put up your hand and get involved by becoming a delegate at the WA-Summit. We’d love to have you with us.
Click here for all the details.